FaultScore

2023 Ford F-150 acceleration problems

18 of the 577 complaints about the 2023 Ford F-150 are about the throttle and cruise control — 3% of everything reported for this model year. Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before 22,000 miles.

D

18

Complaints

5

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

Exactly what failed

Vehicle Speed Control 16 88.9%
Cruise Control 1 5.6%
Accelerator Pedal 1 5.6%

Acceleration & Cruise Control across every Ford F-150 year

1991 11 0.4%
1992 16 0.6%
1993 42 1.5%
1994 77 2.7%
1995 76 2.7%
1996 36 1.3%
1997 227 8.1%
1998 120 4.3%
1999 83 2.9%
2000 191 6.8%
2001 180 6.4%
2002 87 3.1%
2003 32 1.1%
2004 70 2.5%
2005 57 2.0%
2006 31 1.1%
2007 54 1.9%
2008 41 1.5%
2009 54 1.9%
2010 39 1.4%
2011 212 7.5%
2012 194 6.9%
2013 300 10.7%
2014 101 3.6%
2015 139 4.9%
2016 98 3.5%
2017 62 2.2%
2018 73 2.6%
2019 44 1.6%
2020 15 0.5%
2021 19 0.7%
2022 15 0.5%
2023 18 0.6%

What owners said

Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.

Suwanee, GA

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Complete instrument cluster blackout while driving. Screen goes entirely black intermittently, lasting up to 30 minutes. Occurs while vehicle is in motion. Issue persists even after stopping and restarting vehicle. Loss of speedometer, battery state of charge, warning lights, and all driver information. This creates unsafe driving conditions with no way to monitor speed or critical vehicle systems.

NHTSA complaint #11733547 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Newton, NH

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

While driving my 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor, the vehicle suddenly lost throttle response. The accelerator pedal produced no response and the engine would not rev even though the vehicle remained powered on. A battery warning light briefly illuminated at the time of the incident. I was able to bring the vehicle to a stop, but during the event the steering wheel became locked or extremely stiff and the vehicle did not respond normally to inputs. After stopping, I placed the truck in park and was unable to shift the transmission back out of park. The vehicle appeared to remain powered on but multiple systems were not responding. After pressing the start/stop button and cycling the vehicle, the issue cleared and the truck began operating normally again. Prior to this incident, the vehicle had already been scheduled to go to the dealership because it had been displaying numerous warning lights and diagnostic codes across multiple systems, totaling approximately 30 alerts. The vehicle was taken to a Ford dealership for diagnosis. The dealership reported codes indicating a network communication issue between vehicle modules but stated they were unable to reproduce the failure and no repair was performed. The dealership has requested that I take possession of the vehicle despite the unresolved cause of this failure. Given the loss of throttle response and steering function while the vehicle was in motion, I currently feel the vehicle is unsafe to operate until the underlying issue is identified and corrected. A sudden loss of throttle response and steering control while the vehicle is in motion creates a significant risk of collision, particularly in traffic or at highway speeds. The fact that the failure temporarily cleared after cycling the vehicle suggests a potential intermittent electronic or communication failure affecting critical vehicle control systems.

NHTSA complaint #11722885 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Eustis, FL

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

I was trying to park the vehicle and it unexpectedly started to accelerate. I had to slam on the brakes. This is not the first time this has occurred. It’s happened many times. I took it to the Ford dealership and they said they cannot find any problems so then I did some research on the Internet and found there’s other people saying the same thing so there’s clearly a problem with this vehicle. Unexpected acceleration.

NHTSA complaint #11704939 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Las Vegas, NV

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

While driving down the road, the driver gauge display screen completely goes dark. All information displayed normally on the screen, such as speed, mileage, and vital information about the vehicle stops, displaying entirely. This has happened multiple times. Usually the next day, the issue is solved. Then, several months later, the issue reappears. Whenever the vehicle is taken for repair, the dealer simply cannot replicate the issue. This is a known issue that has been reported online by many people.

NHTSA complaint #11679946 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 22,000 miles Peoria, IL Crash

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The contact owned a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and the front passenger side of the vehicle crashed into a tree. No warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. The air bags were not deployed. No injuries were sustained and no medical attention was sought. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was totaled; the failure cause was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. 

NHTSA complaint #11672591 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Upperco, MD Crash

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

On [XXX] at [XXX] I dropped my wife and 2 children off at the Funland Arcade in Deep Creek, Maryland. The parking lot was full from the holiday weekend and I was planning on taking the Lightning to a nearby charger while the family gamed so I double parked perpendicular to the arcade entrance, put the hazards on, and let them out. After the 3 of them got out, I placed the Lightning in reverse to back up 5-10 feet so that I could exit the parking lot through the same way I came in. Once I had enough space from reversing so I could make the turn to exit I placed the Lighting in drive. The moment the Lightning switched to drive it accelerated at a very high speed as if I was flooring the gas pedal, which I was not. The lightning was in one-petal mode which I always use unless I’m on a highway. I immediately began pumping the brakes but the truck would not stop, I probably slammed on the brake petal 4-5 times to no avail. I even tried shifting the truck back into park but it would not shift out of drive. I was able to luckily steer the truck into a hillside approximately 150 feet away. The truck ran over numerous small trees and shrubs before crashing to a stop approximately 16 feet up the hill. Shortly after the shock wore off, I slowly reversed the truck down the hill, exited the truck, and informed dozens of onlookers who came out of the arcade to see what the noise in the parking lot was from, that the truck just took off on its own but that I was fine. I called 911 and the police came. Luckily no people or vehicles were between the arcade entrance and the hillside or the outcome would have been significantly worse. This crash was witnessed first hand by wife and 2 children. I have grave safety concerns about this truck now and will not put my family or self back in it until Ford fixes this problem. I am making this complaint in case this information can help prevent future crashes of this vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11671486 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

East Wenatchee, WA

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Thank you for a chance to file this information. The cruise speed control and lane keeping systems are not working consistently and properly. They fail every week when tested. So far - the dealer-warranty fixes have not been the remedy needed. The cruise control system on steeper slopes doesn't provide braking to stay at the set speed - and at times it doesn't provide any braking resistance - so the vehicle takes off full speed with gravity. The lane keeping system doesn't provide consistent drivers' assistance to prevent departing the lane - even with new/freshly painted center-lanes/side of the road lanes.

NHTSA complaint #11664210 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Socorro, NM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Emergency brakes automatically deployed. Vehicle not letting me retrieve key from ignition. Vehicle does not indicate it is in park.

NHTSA complaint #11649858 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 29,700 miles Rochester Hills, MI

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL

The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at speeds between 65 - 80 MPH with the cruise control activated, the cruise control malfunctioned, and the vehicle decelerated to 10 - 20 MPH slower than the cruise control was set for. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 29,700.

NHTSA complaint #11621890 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Raleigh, NC

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

This is something I've noticed a few times, it's concerning, and I'm trying to hash out what's actually happening. After reversing at slow speed (from a parking spot for example) and then shifting into drive, I've felt what appeared to be uncommanded throttle response. The cruise control engages as if it had been set to 15mph and trying to accelerate to that speed. Being in a parking space and shifting to drive, I was at a stand still. This morning, after backing out of driveway, slowing to a near stop, and selecting drive, it felt like the truck had a significant throttle engagement which I imeddiately had to brake. The cruise control had again engaged to 15mph and was green signifying it was active and accelerating to catch up to the 15mph. This occurs immediately when shifting from reverse to drive. The only common factor I can isolate to is when backing, if I simply shift to drive after slowing to a near stop, without braking, it engages. I cannot replicate and Ford says they are not aware of any issues.

NHTSA complaint #11620938 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Decatur, TX

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

We have been having repeated problems with the dash freezing in place for several days needing a battery to be disconnected to reset the issue. When the issue is going on, the dash is completely frozen in place. There is no way to know how much fuel is left, how fast you are going or anything else from the cluster due to it not changing at all. When the issues were brought to the dealers attention, they were shown a video of the problem occurring. But were unable to replicate the issue and thus did nothing but notate they didn't see it happen. The vehicle is owned by the Law Enforcement agency and it is not feasible to have the officer come into the dealership when the issue is acting up. The primary safety issues we see is the possibility of the vehicle running out of gas on the highway and causing a accident. Speeding concerns since the officers have no way of knowing their speed. Maintenance concerns since even the odometer is frozen so there is no way to track when its ready for service.

NHTSA complaint #11614167 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 46,000 miles Magnolia, TX Crash

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while her son was at a red light, the vehicle jolted forward crashing into the vehicle in front without warning. The automatic braking system failed to engage. No injuries were sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not towed and was able to restart. The dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

NHTSA complaint #11607968 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Newport Beach, CA

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

When I use the cruise control and set it at a speed, it will maintain that set speed for a period of time and then the set speed will randomly jump up 10 to 20 miles an hour and reset the speed faster. So if I set it at 70 miles an hour. It jumps up to 80 or 85 and once even jumped up to 90 mph. The first time I told this to a Service person they told me that’s normal. The car went in and supposedly they fixed it, but it is still doing it.

NHTSA complaint #11594604 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 18,060 miles Itta Bena, MS

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated. The brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to decelerate. The contact shifted into neutral, and the brake pedal responded as needed. The contact merged to the side of the road. A local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,060.

NHTSA complaint #11582685 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 251 miles Winterport, ME

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while her husband was reversing down the driveway, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently. Upon depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal went to the floorboard and failed to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. As a result of the failure, the driver lost control of the vehicle, coming to a complete stop after striking a tree. The vehicle continued to accelerate, requiring the driver to turn off the engine. The air bags did not deploy. The blank warning light was illuminated. A Police report was not filed, and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 251.

NHTSA complaint #11577219 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Hawley, PA

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Cruise control button only requires 1 touch to engage. old system required to turn on and then set. it would be to bad, however button is on left side of wheel and is easily accidently engaged. It has happened many times in 2 months of ownership. Dealer and ford won't act. this thing will engage i have had approaching curves and even stop signs. I'm very disappointed with 2 aspects of truck remote tailgate drop another hazard and cruise control. please notify ford of this problem.

NHTSA complaint #11572642 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Gibraltar, MI Crash

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Vehicle accelerates at low speeds when applying brake. It has happened 3 times in the past 6 months. Dealer was contacted and said no reports of this issue were on file. Most recent incident resulted in a minor collision.

NHTSA complaint #11570373 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Freeport, ME Crash

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

On [XXX] as I was going in reverse the car started to accelerate out of control, I pumped the breaks and it increased speed, I then tried to power down truck and that did not work. My vehicle ended up going in ditch backwards and I hit a mailbox and ditch. Earlier in the week when I went to go from reverse to forward it felt like it was locked and then it would engage. I do not feel this is safe and will not ride the vehicle as I think there is something wrong mechanically with the truck. Police report will be uploaded in 1-2 days. My email address us [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11568123 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Other 2023 Ford F-150 problems

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